Forever Sunshine
by NShadows
Summary: For the Splish Splash challenge! Rose helps Scorpius find a gift for his mum's birthday.


I don't own (sadly) any of the rights to Harry Potter. This is for the Splish Splash challenge! My prompt was the scent Forever Sunshine.

Bath and Body Works Forever Summer: golden apricot, pink peonies, vanilla musk and a hint of praline

Rose bit into her apricot as she dashed through Diagon Alley, trying to get her shopping done before she had to meet the rest of her family at the Three Broomsticks. Uncle Neville had planned some sort of spread for them since he was about to become Professor Longbottom again for the next few months. His wife, Hannah, made the best food.

"Weasley!"

Rose hesitated, because there were at least twenty other Weasley' running around shopping. She turned and sighed, recognizing the blond head weaving towards her with a scowl fixed on his face. Prejudices had faded over the years, but she and her brother were the only Weasley's that Scorpius Malfoy could get away with talking to. She'd had to get used to him of course, since he was her cousin's best friend. He'd become a constant fixture at the Burrow's annual Quidditch game in the summer, and he visited during winter hols. Still, the two of them had never quite become more than aquaintances who knew each other because they both knew Albus.

"'Ello, Scorpius."

He gave the crowd around them a glare. "How many bloody people fit on this street?"

"Term starts in a few days. Everyone's panicking at the last minute," she grinned.

"Where's Albus?"

"No idea." She frowned, her mind already drifting to her shopping. Grandmother Weasley would kill her if she forgot anything. "We're meeting at the Three Broomsticks in a little bit. I'm just getting some last minute things for Grandmother Molly."

"Damn," he muttered, then grinned at her look. "Sorry. He's supposed to helping me pick out a gift for my mum's birthday. Your aunt Ginny is always raving about his gifts."

Rose frowned, shopping forgotten. "Al told you he got Ginny those gifts?"

Scorpius nodded absently, eyes scanning the crowd. "There he is!"

Rose was tempted to stalk away in her anger, but instead, stood next to Scorpius and gave Albus an overly warm smile.

Albus didn't miss the look, and frowned in confusion.

"Scorpius tells me you're going together to find a gift for his mum." Rose winked at them both. "Are you signing it together too? Maybe a comeout birthday surprise?"

Scorpius glared at her while Albus rolled his eyes. "You love to call us man-whores, Rose."

"Well, maybe you're over-compensating." She looked over her shoulder at the clock tower and grimaced. "I have to go, Grandma will skin me if I don't have this stuff back to her soon. Have fun finding a gift, boys."

"Wait, Rose, actually..." Rose smirked and disappeared into the crowd, completely ignoring Albus.

Later that night, just before the Quidditch match was due to start, Albus caught her elbow and pulled her into the empty kitchen which smelled of the pralines Molly Weasley had made for dessert. Scorpius trailed behind Albus, looking amused.

Albus held up a basket of apricots and offered it to her. "I'm begging forgiveness here, Rose, and groveling."

"Apricots?" Scorpius looked confused.

"They're my favorite," Rose said with a smirk.

"I told him about how it's always you that picks gifts. So, if I beg, will you help us?"

Rose grinned and bit into the fruit. "I guess."

* * *

The next morning Rose was up by dawn, and waiting patiently for Albus and Scorpius just outside Al's house. She bent down and absent mindedly revived her aunt's peonies, a simple spell Uncle, uh, _Professor _Nevile had shown her.

"Morning." Scorpius' voice sounded from behind her, and he smirked when she spun, so startled she almost landed in the flowers. "So easy."

"Bite me, Malfoy." She struggled to stand gracefully, and glared at his offered hand for a moment, then took it. She steadied herself with a flush. "Where's Al?" She took a bite of her apricot, and frowned at his stare. "What?"

"Are you always eating one of those?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I said they were my favorite."

He frowned, about to say something, then stopped, and they both looked over as Albus ran out of the house. "Sorry, woke up late!"

"So what's you great idea this time, Rosie?"

Rose rolled her eyes at the nickname. "Manchester."

Both boys looked at her blankly.

She grinned. "Trust me." She held out her hands to both of them. "We'll apparate into the mall, I know a place that's safe."

When they arrived, Rose noticed the frown on Scorpius' face. "What's wrong?"

"You smell like vanilla," he said softly as Al began the walk towards the ice cream shoppe he'd spotted right away.

Rose smirked. "Yeah. That okay?"

Scorpius shook his head as though to clear it. "Sorry."

Rose frowned. "You sure you're okay?"

He shrugged, stepping away from her. "Yeah. So what's your great idea for my mum?"

"Well, you know our mum's do the same charity circuits. I've heard them talking, and your mum really liked this scent my mum was wearing. She thought it was a potion."

"I'm guessing it's not."

"Nope. It's from a store here in the mall. Muggle. Will your mum be offended?"

Scorpius shook his head, still not looking at her. "She's been good for my dad that way. She didn't grow up with the same prejudices."

Rose nodded, watching Al flirt with a random girl. "Looks like Al's busy. Want to go on and find something?"

"Find something?"

"The gift? The reason we're here... Bloody hell, school starts day after tomorrow, and your head is up in the clouds. If I'm wasting my time helping you..."

Scorpius smirked. "You're not. Sorry, I was distracted. Come on, let's leave Al. It'll put him in a panic. Lead the way."

Rose grinned and grabbed his elbow, pulling him along with her. She enjoyed watching his face as he watched the Muggles on the escalators and milling about. She pulled him into their store and watched his face as he sniffed the air. He winced and gave her a look. "What exploded?"

Rose laughed. "It always smells like that in here. Come on." As they passed a tray of sampler scents she reached out and grabbed one, then sprayed her wrist with it. To Scorpius' amusement she then held her wrist up for him to smell. "Well?"

Scorpius shook his head. "You have no idea how demeaning it is to be in this store. I'm a guy."

"Are you really? I hadn't noticed!" Rose smirked at his glower and motioned around them. "There are other guys in here."

"Yes, and they're all being led around by their signifacant others like good dogs."

"Come on then, whiny brat." She worked her way around the store, then grinned when she found her goal. "Okay, is money an issue?" At his look she grinned. "Of course not. Trust me?" She reached for a shopping bag.

For a moment there was silence and Rose turned to frown at him when she saw him watching her, an odd look on his face. "Scorpius? It was a rhetorical question."

Instead of laughing as expected, Scorpius became even more serious. "What did you smell when we brewed Amortentia last year?"

Rose froze for a moment, completely caught off guard. "What?"

He shook his head, looking away again. "Nothing. Yes, I trust you."

Rose hesitated wanting to know what the hell was wrong with him today. Then she shrugged. "You can pay me back later. I have the currency for over here."

He nodded, and watched as she picked several bottles. They waited in line for several minutes. Scorpius stood out of the way while she paid. When she turned to find him he had a bottle in his hand and was frowning at it.

"It's lotion. Won't kill you. Come on. I've got a basket at home I'll throw this in." They made their way out of the store and found Albus, in a panic as promised, and apparated home.

* * *

A few days later Rose was sitting in the hall next to the portable swamp when Scorpius found her. She was scribbling in a notebook and looked up when he cleared his throat. "Hey."

"Scorpius? Is Al is trouble again?" She started shoving her stuff in her satchel.

"What? Oh. No. He's off with his new girlfriend." He handed her a small bag. "For Mum's gift. She loved it by the way. So I'm recruiting you from now on." He smiled at her slightly.

Rose laughed and took the bag. "No problem." She was startled when instead of leaving Scorpius sat down next to her. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." He nodded at the swamp. "You sit over here very often?"

"Yeah. My uncles put it here you know, trying to annoy a professor everyoen hated one year. I love it here. Weird, huh?"

"No, not that weird." He shifted, as though uncomfortable. "Here, I got you this, at that place." He handed her a cloth bag.

Rose opened it cautiously. "Oh. Thanks! What made you get me this one?"

"It... reminds me of you, I guess." He stood. "Anyway, see you later."

Rose watched him walk away, then glanced back at the bottle of lotion. "Forever Sunshine," she murmured, and smelled it, then grinned. "Good choice."

"Hey, Rose, you seen Scorp?" Al called as he walked towards her.

"You just missed him." She pointed down the hallway. "Just went that way."

"What are you doing with that?" Al's voice sounded suspicious.

"Oh, it was a thank you gift I think. Why?"

Al shrugged, already about to walk past her. "It's what Scorpius said his Amortentia smelled like. Freaked him out when he found the scent in a Muggle store. Guess he wanted to get rid of it."

Rose said nothing, watching Al walk away. Then, as she fully comprehended what he'd said, "Oh. _Bloody Hell_."

:) reviews are wonderful. I hope I covered the challenge well.


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